6m ago Mr. Trump opened his remarks declaring, “This is Liberation Day.”
He said April 2, 2025, “will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed and the day that we began to make America wealthy again.”
Mr. Trump exuded confidence about dialing up tariffs despite warnings from economists that they will increase prices on American consumers who have already been hit hard by inflation.
24m ago President Trump has repeatedly referred to the tariffs he is set to announce on April 2 as “Liberation Day.” But liberation from what? First and foremost, Mr. Trump wants to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign goods.
More broadly, and going back to his first term in the White House, Mr. Trump has long sought to reshape the global trade system. Underlying that goal is his view that other countries’ trade policies, along with treaties such as the 1992 North American Free Trade Agreement and 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada agreement, harm American manufacturers and workers.
Trump administration officials say that tariffs will spur both foreign and domestic companies to expand in the U.S.; lead to more balanced trade with economic allies; reduce the U.S. trade deficit with other countries; and generate federal revenue that can be used for other priorities.
“I will immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect American workers and families,” Mr. Trump said in his Jan. 20 inaugural address. “Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens.”
38m ago Rank-and-file steelworkers and autoworkers are expected to be in the Rose Garden audience for Mr. Trump’s announcement, as are most of Mr. Trump’s Cabinet, including Vice President JD Vance, two White House officials told CBS News. No CEOs are expected.
Some members of Congress were also invited, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and Republican Sens. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and Bernie Moreno of Ohio.
— Sara Cook, Jennifer Jacobs
51m ago White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said this week that the president’s plan will place reciprocal tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners, and that the reciprocal tariffs will go into effect “immediately.”
The president hasn’t said what the tariff rates on foreign goods will be, and whether they will be global or affect products from specific countries. Leavitt said Tuesday that Mr. Trump was still finalizing the plan details with his trade team.
The president’s new tariffs will bring back manufacturing jobs, Leavitt said, as well as “improve American competitiveness in every area of industry, reduce our massive trade deficits, and ultimately protect our economic and national security.”
3:14 PM Stocks hovered in positive terrain shortly before the close of trading as investors awaited word from President Trump on Wednesday afternoon about new matching tariffs the U.S. is expected to deploy against its trading partners.
Financial markets have retreated this year amid mounting concerns that Mr. Trump’s economic policies could jar spending by American consumers and businesses, hurting economic growth.
The S&P 500 rose a modest 14 points, or 0.2%, to 5,6476, in afternoon trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.2% and 0.5%, respectively.
For investors, according to Wall Street analysts, key questions regarding the levies the U.S. is expected to unveil on Wednesday — known as “reciprocal” tariffs — include which countries and products will be targeted; what the tariff rates will be; and how long the levies might remain in place.
Updated 3:00 PM Mr. Trump announced last week that vehicles and auto parts imported into the U.S. will be subject to a 25% tariff rate.
The auto tariffs are expected to go into effect at midnight, just hours after the latest round of tariff announcements by the president Wednesday afternoon.
The levies will lead to higher costs for auto manufacturers, and those costs are expected to trickle down to consumers. Some automakers have already announced higher car prices.
—By Megan Cerullo, Sarah Lynch Baldwin
Updated 3:00 PM All car manufacturers will be impacted by the new tariffs, according to analysts, but some will be hit much harder than others.
General Motors is expected to be the most exposed to auto tariffs because it makes just 45% of the vehicles it sells to U.S. customers domestically, whereas Ford is expected to be better positioned to weather the tariffs given 80% of its vehicles are manufactured in the U.S.
See a breakdown of which cars may be most impacted here.
Updated 3:00 PM Most Americans say Mr. Trump has focused too much on tariffs — which they believe will end up raising prices — and not enough on lowering prices, our latest CBS News poll found.
—By Anthony Salvanto, Jennifer De Pinto, Kabir Khanna, Fred Backus
Updated 3:00 PM During the first three months of 2025, the S&P 500 lost 4.6%, marking the worst quarter in two-and-a-half years. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite ended the first three months of the year with a 10.4% decline, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 2.2% over the same period.
Investors are anxious over a potentially toxic mix of worsening inflation and a slowing U.S. economy because households are afraid to spend due to a deepening trade war escalated by Mr. Trump.
Updated 3:00 PM The president of the United Auto Workers Union has praised Mr. Trump’s move to impose tariffs on vehicles and auto parts imported into the U.S., while also noting that “tariffs aren’t the total solution.”
“Tariffs are a tool in the toolbox to get these companies to do the right thing, and the intent behind it is to bring jobs back here, and, you know, invest in the American workers,” Shawn Fain told CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett in an interview that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Sunday.
Updated 3:00 PM Economists warn that the Trump administration’s fusillade of tariffs on everything from foreign cars and Chinese-made goods to groceries could raise prices for Americans just as inflation is returning to normal.
Another widely used product that experts say could see higher costs: housing. The National Association of Home Builders recently estimated that U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum and lumber imports could add more than $9,000 to the price of a typical home, while also driving up renovation costs.
Homebuilders also face headwinds from the White House’s crackdown on immigrants, which could lead to a shortage of labor in the construction sector.
“Trade protectionism will increase prices on key material construction inputs,” Fitch Ratings said in an April 1 report. “Foreign born, non-citizen workers represent an overwhelming share of key specialty construction occupations, and immigration restrictions are likely to raise labor costs.”
Updated 3:00 PM President Trump has argued that his tariffs could help the government raise over $1 trillion in the next year or so, helping to reduce the national debt and even potentially offset some income taxes.
But economists are skeptical that these tariffs can bring in as much as Mr. Trump claims, as consumers will likely reduce their spending on foreign goods when prices go up.
The president’s trillion-dollar estimates are significantly higher than those provided by think tanks and even some of his own officials.
- Updated 3:00 PM What: President Trump delivers remarks announcing new tariffs
- Date: Wednesday, April 2, 2025
- Time: Scheduled for 4 p.m. EDT
- Location: The White House Rose Garden in Washington, D.C.
- Online stream: Live on CBS News in the video player above and on your mobile or streaming device
